Cha- Cha- Changes
Chapter 3
Pulling up to the restaurant, Speed glanced over at Jacinda. There had definitely been a change in her since this morning. It was one that he was happy to see. She was too young to be strapped with the burden of grieving and it made him feel as if he was honoring RJ by trying his hardest to be there for her. It was what his son would've wanted . As the valet took the car , he looked up to see Robin coming out of the door with Mallory . It had been a long month since she had walked out of his life, leaving him to grieve his son's death alone. She walked past him without even glancing at him, he noticing that the shine that she had was gone. Mallory turned around and stopped, not sure of who she was seeing.
" Daddy? Is that you?" Mallory asked as Robin stopped a few feet ahead of her with her head down.
Speed looked at his daughter , feeling his emotions welling inside of him and took her into an embrace. Robin turned around and came to where they were standing , and watched with a hint of anger in her expression. Speed looked to Jacinda then back to Mallory and hugged her again.
" Jacinda, it's Mallory."
" Hi, Mallory , how are you?" Jacinda asked with a smile on her face as Mallory left her father's arms and walked over to her. Mallory opened her arms for a hug.
" Good, how are you holding up?"
" Today, it's good."
" Yeah , I know what you mean," Mallory said as she glanced over at her mother and father. "Today's been a good day for her too. But sometimes, it gets hard to deal with her."
Robin glanced at Mallory as Speed stood in front of her, " Tim."
"Robin, how have you been?" Speed asked quietly.
" My son, is dead, Tim. How do you think I've been?" Robin spat.
" Robin, we never got to talk about this..."
" There's nothing really to talk about, Timothy. I told you that I was never going to forgive you if something happened to RJ. Three days later, he died, and you weren't even there."
" Robin , don't think you are the only one who is hurting."
" I can't deal with you right now, Tim. I don't know if I ever want to deal with you again."
"Robin..."
" I've filed for divorce, Timothy," Robin said bluntly. " You should be served with the papers soon."
" Why did you do that?"
" Losing RJ was the worst thing that has ever happened to me, Tim. And I can't live with being married to the person I hold responsible for his death. I'm taking Mallory and going back to England."
" You can't do that, Robin! She's my daughter too."
" And it's her that I am thinking about. I want to get her away from all of this, I want her to be safe," Robin said as the tears came. " I can't assure her safety here."
"And you can in England? I would never let anything happen to her..."
" What if something happens to you? How am I supposed to tell her that she has lost a father to the same thing that took her brother?"
" And running off to England is going to change that I am her father?"
" It's best for both of us, Timothy. I'm through talking to you," Robin said as she turned to walk away.
" Robin, wait..."
" Mallory, we are going," Robin called as she turned to her and Jacinda. She didn't smile at Jacinda , just merely glancing in her direction.
" Mom,..."
" Mallory Beatrice, I said we're leaving."
Mallory glared at her mother then walked to her, waving at Jacinda as they left. Jacinda joined Speed at the door, seeing the distress that had once again took residence in his eyes. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the door.
" You want to talk about it?" Jacinda asked as they waited to be seated. She watched as he put his hand up to his eyes and massaged them. " It will help."
He looked up at her and smiled lightly. In so many ways she was like her mother, always willing to help. He thought briefly about his encounter with Calleigh in the break room and realized that he had been a little too hard on her. She was just expressing her concern.
"Maybe later. I want to hear about your doctor's appointment," Speed said as they were led to their seats. Speed nodded at the waiter as he brought the menus over.
" Do you guys need a minute?" the waiter asked with his pen poised.
" Yeah give us a moment," Speed said glancing over his menu. The waiter turned and walked away leaving them. " So about that appointment."
Jacinda glanced nervously to the menu and the floor. She had made up her mind to tell Speed that she was pregnant with RJ's baby, but now it was harder than it seemed in her car.
" I have some news, Speed."
Speed glanced up from the menu almost afraid to look in her eyes. He didn't want to see what could possibly be swimming in them. " Go on."
" It's not bad news, just surprising ."
"I'm listening," Speed said. She was the closest thing that reminded him of his son at this moment.
" I'm pregnant." Jacinda said simply.
Speed dropped the menu and tipped over the glass of water that had been set in front of him, spilling it. Jacinda jumped up quickly and grabbed a handful of napkins. The waiter came by and saw the disturbance and sighed heavily as he joined in. When the water was cleaned up and their order was made, Speed glanced over at her and cleared his throat.
" I'm sorry , but did you just say that you are pregnant?" Speed asked as his voice changed pitch.
" Yes, four weeks. It's RJ's just in case you are wondering." Jacinda replied with a smile on her face.
" Well I figured that," Speed said as the smile crept up again. He couldn't believe this. He was going to be a grandfather.
" And, I'm going to need some help," Jacinda said as she absently touched her stomach.
" Whatever you need done, I've got it," Speed exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Are you sure?" Jacinda asked.
" Am I sure? That's my grandchild we are talking about! I will do anything that is needed," Speed said almost out of breath, " a baby. I can't believe it."
Jacinda felt the apprehension that she was carrying, melt away. Now that she had told him, she felt as if she could finally breathe. Now the task would be how to break it to her mother.
" I haven't told anyone yet, so ..."
" I know, keep my mouth shut. It' going to be pretty hard , though. You have made me the happiest I've been in a long time. We've got so much to do, getting a nursery together, going to appointments, scheduling LeMans classes..."
Jacinda put a hand up and smiled brightly, " Whoa, whoa, Speed, can we get through lunch first? We have eight months to get everything together. Let's take it one day at time, okay?"
Speed chuckled to himself and looked down . He was so happy that he could barely contain himself. But Jacinda was right , he had to pace himself. Thousands of thoughts raced through his mind, the most prevalent one being should he tell Robin.
" Jacinda, I want to tell Robin. Maybe if she hears this , she will come to her senses."
" I think she has the right to know, Speed. Like you said, maybe this will help her in some way," Jacinda said glancing up at the busy restaurant ,wondering when she was going to get her food.
Speed nodded in agreement and as an afterthought asked, " Is it okay if I tell someone at the lab? Just one person."
" If her initials are AW, there is a good chance that you won't make it out of the lab today without her cornering you. I noticed that she has always had a keen sense of knowing what is going on with you. It's almost freaky."
" She's been there for me in more ways than one. When I had that thing with your mother, she was my shoulder to cry on. She's like my best friend and my mother rolled into one."
That thing? Jacinda thought but shoved it to the back of her mind. She instead focused on the waiter as he toted a platter of food her way." You got that right. I have seen her in action more than once when it was concerning you," Jacinda returned as the hot plate of food was placed in front of her. She was famished.
Speed glanced at her and grinned at the hungry look she was giving the plate, " Hungry are we?"
" I'm eating for two now," Jacinda said humorously as she began with the french fries. They ate and continued to talk about the baby, both of them feeling a sense of release.
As the waiter cleared their plates, Speed flipped his wrist to take a look at his watch to see that his lunch hour had been over for almost thirty minutes.
" I got to get back," he said as he stood up . In a quick motion, he pulled out the chair for Jacinda and helped her up.
" Speed, I'm not an invalid or anything, I'm just pregnant. Please don't start treating me differently," Jacinda sighed.
" I just want to make sure that you are going to be okay."
"I'm going to be fine, Speed. I'm still going to work, do the things that I always do, but maybe Eric will have to take the floaters for a while. Other than that, nothing really has changed , so no special treatment. Got it?"
" Sure, whatever you say. But if I see something I don't like, I'm going to call you out on it. It's your job to take care of the baby, and it's mine to make sure that you are okay," Speed said as he opened the door for her. " What matters is that this baby is healthy."
Jacinda glanced down at her stomach and lightly touched it. He was right, above more than anything , this baby had to come into this world. Jacinda vowed to herself and RJ that she would do all that was within her to make it so.
TNR
Maddison felt the cell phone vibrate on her side and knew what it was without having to look at it. She stopped her paperwork and flipped the phone to reveal the dispatch code for a callout. Getting up, she noticed that the trace lab was empty and dark. She glanced at her watch and saw that Speedle was due back from lunch almost an hour ago. Sighing to herself, she made a mental note to talk to him about his counseling session and to try and persuade him to go to it.
As she walked out of her office, she saw Raymond as he made his way to her. In the month since losing his mother, Raymond had changed considerably. He was no longer the boisterous, easy going Ray that she was used to , now he was more reserved almost reflective. She wanted so much to talk to him about this, but she knew that his wounds were still fresh. She wouldn't breach this subject with him unless he wanted it.
"Raymond," Maddison greeted lightly.
" I see we have a call out. Mind if I ride with you?" Raymond asked absently.
" I don't see why not? How have you been doing today? I haven't seen you around."
" I had this thing to take care of this morning and it ended up taking up all of my time."
" Does this have anything to do with a counseling session?" Maddison asked as she looked sideways at him.
" How did you know?"
" It seems like Stetler is bent on trying to get everyone into therapy. I don't know if she is truly concerned about us or if she is rooting around for some dirt to try and hang us with."
" She's so much like her father isn't she?" Raymond asked, as a small spark resurfaced.
" Yeah, but she isn't as bad as he was."
Raymond laughed out loud as they got onto the elevator suddenly thankful that he had run into Maddison in the hallway.
TNR
Jen Delko stood behind her father in the fingerprinting lab, wanting to say something, but not wanting to interrupt him. Feeling his daughter's presence and apprehension, Eric looked up from the magnifying glass towards her with a smile. When she returned the smile half heartedly, Eric instantly knew that something was wrong.
" Hey dad, you got a minute?" Jen asked as she continued to stand behind him.
" Always for my little girl, what can I do for you?"
" I just wanted to talk to you, or to someone."
Eric looked deeper into her eyes , not liking the distant tone she was taking this conversation. His own apprehensions set in motion a flurry of thoughts.
" Go ahead."
" I don't know if I want to do this anymore, dad."
" What? Why do you say that?"
" I don't know, it's like I get lost in the mix around here. Mr. Speedle never confers with me on anything, he just takes it by himself and leaves me to twiddle my thumbs, Jacinda doesn't even recognize me anymore. Maddison looks right over me, I don't think I fit here anymore."
" Jen , you just lost one of your good friends. It's natural to feel this way."
" No, dad , it's more than RJ. I can't make a connection with anyone here."
" Jen, just give it time..."
" How much time do I give it dad? When I'm Horatio's age and wondering why I am still doing something that I don't love? I can't just let my life slip away from me."
" But Jen, you've wanted to do this since your were three. You graduated with honors from the university and you are a damn good trace analyst," Eric stated matter of fact.
" I don't know dad. I just feel lost a lot of the time,"Jen replied with tears in her eyes.
In an instant, their cell phones vibrated and they both looked at them. Eric exhaled deeply wanting to continue this conversation. Jen shook her head and put the phone back on the top of her pants.
" Can we finish this before you make a rash decision?" Eric asked as he stood up and took off his lab coat.
Jen nodded and left the fingerprinting lab to retrieve her kit from the trace lab. Eric followed behind her closely , keeping two steps behind her. Coming to the trace lab, they found it dark and locked. Jen expressed her frustration audibly and hit the door with her fist. Eric gazed at her with deep concern, she had never reacted to anything like that. Ever.
" What am I going to do? I need my kit out of there," Jen said as she put her forehead on the glass door.
" I'll let you use mine," Eric said as he put a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. He would have some words with Speed when he saw him again. Eric guided her to the elevator and they rode in silence to the garage to an awaiting Hummer. Jen continued to remain silent through out the ride , her confusion and hurt etched on her face. She couldn't stand another moment here, and she had to do something to get out of it.
TBC...
A/N: What's going on with Jen? And where is Alexx? Tune in to find out , lol :).